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Dr. Seuss and some of his characters, from a commemorative U.S. postage stamp issue in 2004.
March 2, 2021
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Dr. Seuss, pseudonym of Theodor Seuss Geisel, was born March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Mass. He was best known as an American writer and illustrator of children’s books.
Geisel was rejected by 27 publishers before his first book, And to think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was accepted by Vanguard Press in 1937. He went on to publish 44 best-selling books, characterized by nonsense words, playful rhymes and unusual creatures.
Geisel said he was walking home to burn the manuscript home, stinging from his 27th rejection, when he bumped into a friend from college who was just made editor of children’s books at Vanguard.
“If I'd been going down the other side of Madison Avenue, I'd be in the dry-cleaning business today,” Geisel said.
He died September 24, 1991.
Geisel was rejected by 27 publishers before his first book, And to think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was accepted by Vanguard Press in 1937. He went on to publish 44 best-selling books, characterized by nonsense words, playful rhymes and unusual creatures.
Geisel said he was walking home to burn the manuscript home, stinging from his 27th rejection, when he bumped into a friend from college who was just made editor of children’s books at Vanguard.
“If I'd been going down the other side of Madison Avenue, I'd be in the dry-cleaning business today,” Geisel said.
He died September 24, 1991.